Recently, I went for a Staycation with my friends at Yotel and I was super excited! I’ve been hearing tons of great things about this new hotel and couldn’t wait for this staycay!

Booking this hotel in the middle of the COVID-19 situation was a bit iffy. Iffy being that we weren’t sure what the government policies will be at the time of our staycay. So we opted to buy from their website directly instead of through the other platforms. This is because, from what we understand, we can only cancel it if we get our room directly from their website – in case the situation changes and we aren’t allowed to staycay.

CHECK IN

Photo Credits: HRS and Photo by Me

Although the official check-in was at 2 or 3 pm, we decided to try our luck straight after lunch. The time was about 1 pm. It was great because there wasn’t any queue and the staff were very accommodating. They let us check in earlier with no additional charge.

Be prepared that you do need to put in a deposit at the beginning of your stay in case of any mishaps that happen during your stay. If you use a Debit Card, be expected to get your deposit back in cash on your check out.

We also asked for a higher floor for our stay. In the end, we were given a room on the 29th floor, of 30 floors. The view was definitely amazing.

THE ROOM

Photo Credits: Yotel and Ourlittlesmarties

We booked the Premium Queen View Cabin with Bunk which is suitable for 3 people.

Although the room has already been cleaned thoroughly by the Yotel staff, we still did a little wipe down with some of the wipes that we brought. Better safe than sorry, no?

The room that we got came with a Queen sized bed which is adjustable and a bunk bed over it. It did make it look a bit cramp as compared to the other rooms with only the Queen-sized beds.

The bathroom was spacious and its full-length window overlooks some parts of Orchard. So do remember that you’ll have to draw the blinds when you are showering. While their basin and mirror are outside the bathroom. Which is really convenient for us on staycay. We didn’t have to invade each other’s private space while we were cleaning up for the rest of the night.

Overall, it is very cosy and a perfect little space for our staycay to begin!

ENTERTAINMENT

We were pleasantly surprised by the TV programmes that were on the TV. Even got started watching some of the Korean programmes.

On this staycay, I’ve opted to bring my laptop so we connected it to the HDMI pod to display on their TV. Sidenote: Their HDMI pod is actually next to the bed, near the kettle in our room. So you’ll need to do some sleuthing. If you didn’t bring your own HDMI cables, you can also opt to borrow them from the front desk.

AMENITIES

Everything came in threes since it was the three of us staycay-ing. We didn’t want to risk anything by booking 2 people and sneaking the last person in.

The basic amenities include a laptop-size safe, mini-fridge, heater, kettle, WIFI and smartTV.

The best part is that the bottled water is fully complimentary. So we actually got more bottles delivered to our rooms. Yoshi – one of the robots working at Yotel kindly brought them up for us.

It’s so cute because everything is decked out in their signature Purple and White.

FACILITIES

Yotel also has a pool and a gym. However, due to COVID, you’ll need to make a booking in advance. If you wanted to just head in to have a look, just notify one of the staff and they’ll open the doors for you.

We went on a weekday and noticed that there weren’t any other guests at the facilities. I think that if you try to book on the weekdays, you might luck out at enjoying the facilities all by yourself.

NEARBY LATE-NIGHT SNACK RUNS

Even though most of the places around Orchard are closed by the time 12 am comes around, there are still a few places that are open.

Just below the hotel, there is a 24 hours café that is open. There are also 2 convenient stores which are open just across the road – 7-11 and Cheers. It is perfect for those late-night instant noodle runs. Nothing like instant noodles on a staycay.

BREAKFAST

Our package also came with breakfast in the morning. We headed down close to 10 am and there weren’t many people who are having their breakfast. Not too sure if there are not that many guests in the hotel or just that everyone else had their breakfast early. But the restaurant was very spacious and we were all seated very far from each other.

Instead of the usual buffet at the hotels, guests are served their individual portions. Which you can choose from a few options by filling out a piece of paper.

There are two dishes that are served that provides a filling and satisfying brekkie.

The first is a little platter that includes a salad, chocolate muffin, chocolate danish and a banana. Mine was served with a glass of orange juice.

The second dish – and the main one, is the American breakfast. There are other options such as a Congee meal if you choose. The American breakfast comes with hashbrown, toast, grilled tomato, bacon, eggs (I opted for the scrambled) and waffles.

Overall, it was a very filling breakfast and actually delicious. I had really missed the hotel brekkie which I usually get when I go abroad.

CHECK OUT

We wanted to give it a go again to see whether we could have a late checkout. The staff was once again really accommodating. Although, they mentioned that as long as we don’t leave the rooms after 12 pm, it is okay.

You never ask, you never know, am I right?

If you don’t have to get back your deposit in cash, you can opt for the drop your room keys (do account for all of them! Since we had 3 people, we had 3 room keys) in a check-out box to put your room key. And that’s it, you can be on your way.

CONCLUSION

Overall, it was an awesome experience here at Yotel. The futuristic theme highlighted with the purple was really pretty. The staff here at Yotel are very accommodating. Definitely a great place to staycay with your friends or your significant other!

When was your last staycay experience? Have you stayed at Yotel before? I want to hear all about it!

All opinions and experiences are of my own. I am not sponsored by Yotel for this blog post.